Boscastle to Tintagel

4 May 2024

Distance on Coast Path: 8.2km; ascent: 259m

Total distance: 8.8km; ascent: 305m

Walking time: 2h 25′

Total time: 4h 42′

Overnight: The Wellington Hotel, Boscastle

An email came in overnight from Amy and Keith confirming they’d taken their time yesterday and arrived in Boscastle around 6. They had eaten in The Riverside, a place I’d earmarked for my own meal this evening. Today they were on their way to catch a train to the next place on their itinerary – somewhere not involving walking on the Coast Path.

Today was a deliberately short day for me: I wanted to spend some time in Tintagel visiting the castle and generally being a tourist. I think I went there as a child but I have no memory of the visit. The morning was dry and sunny, not too warm at 14°C and with only a slight wind.

The entrance to Boscastle Harbour

Leaving Boscastle the Path takes you to the first headland – Willapark. It bypasses the headland itself but I took the recommended detour to visit the square white tower visible for miles along the coast. It’s now a lookout point for the Coastwatch (National Coastwatch Institution) and I spent an interesting 20 minutes talking to one of the Coastwatch people and hearing about the work they do. Like the Lifeboats (RNLI) they are volunteers and work closely with them and the government funded Coastguards keeping watch for anything unusual, dangerous or amiss both at sea and along the coast. They even note walkers, keeping an eye on anyone who seems to be struggling or just not looking quite right. I joked they must have me in their logbook for yesterday as “old guy in hat”. He laughed politely and changed the subject.

Boots and bluebells

On my way again, the scenery was delightful. Spring flowers everywhere, including bluebells growing on the open grassland. There were relics and scars of slate quarrying but few visible remnants of buildings and other structures. A deep cleft called Rocky Valley was a highlight and a good place to stop for a mid-morning break. Quite a few other people had the same idea. It was around 1230 when I reached the top of the cliff above the Tintagel Castle visitor centre and looked down. It was Saturday on a Bank Holiday weekend, the weather was fine, and the place was crowded.

Rocky Valley

I treated myself to a sausage roll and coffee at the English Heritage café for lunch, then bought a ticket for the castle. I was glad the connection with the Arthur legend wasn’t made too much of (not true of the gift shop!). I enjoyed the visit though felt the place would be more evocative with fewer people around.

Tintagel Castle bridge

After the Castle I walked up the steep road to the village. I needed to get the bus back to Boscastle and had more than an hour to wait. The place was busy and touristy with plenty of Arthurian-themed outlets, but I found a small glass gallery with some interesting pieces on show and visited one of the oldest buildings in the village, the Old Post Office now owned by the National Trust.

Boscastle evening

Back in Boscastle that evening I realised my plan to get the bus back to Tintagel in the morning had overlooked that it would be Sunday and the times didn’t work out, so I booked a taxi. The Riverside restaurant served me a huge bowl of olives as ‘nibbles’ before a main course of lemon sole – I’d been fancying fish which wasn’t in a pie or batter. After, while the sun was setting, I walked down the river to the harbour and took a few photos. It had been a nice easy day!